Month: March 2017

LUBBOCK, TX (KAMC NEWS) – Are you a fan of South Plains politics? Here are your Talking Points for this week.

With all the talk in Washington about wiretapping and Russian agents who knew all it was take to figure out the mystery was a little testimony about Texas Tech football.

The process of building Lubbock’s outer loop (Loop 88) is now underway but with budget problems in Austin, is it the best time to be asking the state for a loan?

Also this week, why the speaker of the Texas House says the Senate is ‘cooking the books” on it’s budget. Plus we’ll spend five good minutes with Representative Dustin Burrows on why he thinks your gun license should be free.

Friday on The Chad Hasty Show, Texas House District 83 Representative Dustin Burrows joined the program broadcasting from Burrows’ office in Austin to talk about current issues in the ongoing 85th Texas Legislature.

Hasty, while opening the show, said: “We are broadcasting today of course from the beautiful Sanctuary City of Austin Texas where, if you light up a cigar, oh no, the SWAT team will arrive, however, if you’re a criminal illegal alien, you can run free all you want.”

Beginning the discussion was the subject of federal overreach, and the recent letter to Washington D.C. upon which Burrows was a signatory.

“We decided that it was time for Washington D.C. to hear from the states, or at least some of us in the state, what we think is best for health care, which is, ‘Give us back the power,’” Burrows said, describing the premise of the letter.

Burrows continued, saying:

If we look at these last elections, where people, forty five percent of the country wakes up depressed and feeling the world is falling apart, well maybe it’s because D.C. has too much power. Maybe it’s because the presidency has too much going on in it. And so my idea how we actually get back to all living together, if California wants to do their thing culturally, un-conservative, and bad economic policy, let them. But at the same time let Texas have as much control over it’s destiny as possible. We welcome that opportunity, we welcome that responsibility, so myself and sixty four of my colleagues, members of the Texas Conservative Coalition sent a letter to the entire delegation including the President and said, ‘Look, just repeal the thing being Obamacare. It’s been a disaster, it’s hurt Texas’ budget, it’s hurt our individual budgets. Let us have the power, and we’ll chart our own course and destiny.

You can watch the first part of Hasty’s interview with Representative Dustin Burrows in the video above, and the other part below.

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – While the American Health Care Act awaits a vote on the House Floor, the state of Texas could have a big voice in whether or not this legislation ever hits the desk of President Trump.

District 19 Congressman Jodey Arrington voted for the legislation to go through last week during a hearing in the House Budget Committee.

Meanwhile, many conservatives are still voicing concern that the current legislation doesn’t go far enough.

That is why 65 Texas House and Senate members have signed off on a letter, urging the entire Texas Congressional Delegation in Washington to fully repeal the entire law.

The letter was written by our district’s House Representative, Dustin Burrows, and was just released to the public today.

All signatures are from members of the Texas Conservative Coalition, including our district’s senator, Charles Perry.

The letter asks our state’s representatives at the Federal level to fully repeal Obamacare and to let the states have control back in setting their own health insurance regulations.

“We sent it to all of the Texas senators and all of the Texas congressmen and just stated that the solutions are best left up to the state to come up with. We’ve got great ideas here in Texas and we welcome the responsibility and the opportunity to come up with them,” Representative Burrows said.

That committee was nearly split, with a tight vote of 19-17 in favor of moving the bill forward.

“I don’t want to overlook, and I don’t think the American people who are conservatives, like those who live primarily in West Texas, should overlook the fact that this is one of three phases or one step in a three-step process to full repeal and fully replace Obamacare,” Congressman Arrington said.

But Burrows and his colleagues who signed on to the letter say they still hope for more control to come back to the states.

“I’m not up there in the debates and I would never tell our congressman how to do his job, but certainly as somebody who is representing the state of Texas who is responsible for the Texas budget, who wants to see more money invested in our schools, our roads and property tax relief I felt compelled to write the letter to urge all of the congressmen to fully repeal it. And give us the opportunity back,” Representative Burrows said.

The legislation will have to receive 218 votes in the House to make its way to the Senate.

Congressman Arrington says he will continue to push for certain provisions, such as creating a work requirement for able-bodied adults who apply for Medicaid.

“I’m not stopping, I’m not slowing down until we get this thing into the best position it can be in for my constituents,” Congressman Arrington said.

When asked if he had read the American Health Care Act in full, Congressman Arrington said he did.

“After the criticism I levied on the Democrats under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi for not reading the bill, passing it to find out what was in it, I wasn’t gonna make that mistake and not read the bill.”

The legislation moves to the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, and Arrington says the bill could see a vote on the House floor as soon as this week.

AUSTIN, TX – On Friday, March 17, 65 members of the Texas Conservative Coalition (TCC) signed the attached letter. While the letter speaks for itself, the following comments were made with its release:

TCC President, Representative James Frank (HD-69): “I am proud to stand as one of 65 members of the Texas Legislature and send this letter to our Congressional Delegation and President Trump. Obamacare has caused insurance premiums to historic highs, leaving less revenue in the Texas budget for priorities such as schools, roads and property tax relief. It has also forced Texans to make impossible choices with their household budgets in order to absorbed these huge spikes. This is why I signed the letter calling for its full repeal.”

TCC Vice President, Representative Jason Isaac (HD-45): “If the past seven years have shown us anything, it’s that top-down, one-size-fits-none government mandates don’t work for our health care system. It’s long past time to do away with Obamacare, and I join TCC’s members in looking forward to health care reform that truly reduces costs for hard-working Texans and returns power to the states.”

Representative Dustin Burrows (HD-83): “Conservatives campaign on the need to decentralize Federal power to the States and limited government; and, today is the opportunity for that to happen. I signed this letter because I believe that the solutions are best left up to the States; and, we welcome the opportunity and responsibility to implement market-based reforms.”

For further comments, please contact John Colyandro with the TCC at (512) 474-1798; or, Rep. James Frank at (512) 463-0534; Rep. Jason Issac at (512) 463-0674; or, Rep. Dustin Burrows at (512) 463-0542.

On Thursday’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show, Texas District 83 Representative Dustin Burrows joined the show to discuss the bill he has introduced into the 85th Texas Legislature, that will require transparency in health care and health care insurance costs.

HB-307 encourages price shopping by health care consumers, and incentivizes competition between providers as well as insurers.

Burrows said of his bill,

I think this is the key to success and bringing down the costs of of health care and health insurance, with something that’s reasonable and affordable.

Burrows also gave a quick run-down on other issues, including progress on CPS, property tax and weapons carry licensing reform.

Listen to the entire interview with Dustin Burrows in the video above.

The Chad Hasty Show airs weekday mornings live, from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, and on the free RadioPup app. Follow Chad on Twitter via @ChadHastyRadio & KFYO Radio at @KFYO!

The 85th Session of the Texas Legislature is well underway. During the first week of February, Governor Abbott delivered his “State of the State Address”, in which he outlined his four emergency legislative priorities: reform of the State’s Child Protective Services (CPS) system; an end to “Sanctuary Cities” that harbor and protect illegal immigrants; support of a Convention of the States to address the strengthening of the 10th Amendment to combat Federal overreach; and ethics reform among state agencies, employee unions and members of the Legislature. I am completely supportive of the Governor’s priorities and I look forward to working on each of these important issues.

Committee and Caucus Assignments

Committee assignments were announced in mid-February, and Speaker Joe Straus has asked that I serve on the Agriculture and Livestock Committee and the Investments and Financial Services Committee. I am honored to serve on these committees on behalf of House District 83, where agriculture and our rural banks and financial institutions are of critical importance. Additionally, my House colleagues have chosen me to serve as a member of the Texas House Republican Caucus Policy Committee. The Caucus Policy Committee is tasked with making sound policy recommendations throughout the session to assist my colleagues as they consider their votes.

Legislative Spotlight

I’m excited to begin work on the Ag and Financial Services Committees, and also ready to push for support of my legislative bills. Of particular note is House Bill 2082 , focusing on our First Responders and their difficulties contending with a complex and unwieldy bureaucracy when they seek help after being injured on the job. Texas First responders put their lives on the line every day and many are injured — some quite severely. These men and women are then left to their own devices as they navigate a complex and confusing workers compensation process. Bill 2082 will create an ombudsman position within the worker’s compensation agency to help these injured police and fireman as they file their claims.

Stay Up to Date

As Session progresses, please visit both my Official House of Representatives web site to learn more about the bills I have filed (and their progress through the Senate and the House) as well as Burrows4Texas.com, where you can keep up with the latest news releases, district news, and events in the District. “Like” my Facebook page and also follow me on Twitter for the latest breaking news from your state capitol. I’m grateful for your support and input, and encourage you to contact my office with your views and concerns. You can email me at dustin.burrows@house.texas.gov or call my office at (512) 463-0542.